The Cebu City government is asking officials of its 80 barangays to already assess the water situation in their respective areas./ Inquirer.net file photo
CEBU CITY, Philippines — A month since the start of the dry spell in the country, the Cebu City Agriculture Office (CAO) already recorded P4.6 million worth of crop damages in the upland barangays.
Apple Tribunalo, CAO head, said that they already documented at least 133 farmers who were affected by the lack of water in their areas that badly affected at least 1.5 hectares of farm land and partially damaging another 29.1 hectares.
Tribunalo said that the affected crops included cauliflowers, eggplants, sweetcorns, and ampalayas.
Barangay Adlaon is one of the badly hit mountain barangays in the city which recorded a total damage of P741,500 on its vegetables and sweetcorn plants, she said.
Tribunalo said that their office is already working to facilitate the release of financial aid to the affected farmers. They will also have their crops enrolled in an insurance coverage for free to prepare for “harsher days ahead.”
She said that they will also be providing water drums and hoses to farmers in the 28 upland barangays which they can use to store water for their farms.
“Dili man sa ingon nga wala na tay tubig. Limitado nalang gyod atong tubig mao nga mag distribute ta sa water drums aron makasalod (ang tubig sa kaumahan) kay ang tubig nga available for households nalang,” said Tribunalo.
CAO will be submitting the results of their monitoring to the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CDRRMO) later today, March 25, for assessment.
The Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office also convened this afternoon to assess damaged caused by the dry spell on countryside farms.
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Tribunalo said that the report that they will submit is expected to help the CDRRMO decide if there was already a need to request the City Council to declare a state of calamity in the city. The declaration will allow CAO to tap the city’s P15 million disaster fund to aid farmers affected by the El Niño.
“As of now, basin dili pa enough ni atong damages to declare a state of calamity, but that is for the CDRRMO to assess,” said Tribunalo.
On March 19, the Cebu City Council placed the city under a state of preparedness and requested all of its 80 barangays to submit reports on their current water supply and the state of farmlands in their respective areas to the CDRRMO./dcb